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You’ll need to be in the Arctic Circle to see the northern lights, and the winter months between November and March are the best time to see them because of how dark it gets. Some places you can go to photograph the northern lights are Iceland, northern Canada, northern Alaska, and the northern region of Sweden, Norway, and Finland. Light from nearby buildings will make it harder to capture the northern lights on camera. Once you pick a country to photograph the northern lights in, find a place there that’s far away from human activity. If you need help finding a good spot that doesn't have a lot of light pollution, check out the Blue Marble Light Pollution Map at https://blue-marble.de/nightlights/2012. Abisko National Park in Sweden is a spot in the path of the northern lights that’s far away from light pollution. You won’t be able to photograph the northern lights if there is a lot of cloud cover. Try to go out shooting on a night when there’s 0-10 percent cloud cover. If the cloud cover is 20-30 percent, you may still be able to take some photos of the northern lights, but they won’t be as clear. Check the local weather forecast to find out what nights during your trip will have the clearest skies for your photo shoot. The Kp-index measures the amount of auroral activity there will be on any given night. The more auroral activity on the night of your photo shoot, the more likely you are to see the northern lights. To check the Kp-index, visit http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/products/planetary-k-index. You should be able to see the auroral activity for that day and the day after. Auroral activity is measured on a scale of 0-9, with 0 being no activity and 9 being a significant amount of activity. If the Kp-index is 4 or higher for a particular day, you should be able to see the northern lights.
Plan a trip to the Arctic Circle sometime between November and March. Choose a spot with minimal light pollution. Pick a night when the forecast calls for clear skies. Check the Kp-index before your photo shoot.